Two-blade mixing and kneading machine



March 17, 1925- 1,530,020

H. F. TIEDKE TWO-BLADE MTXING AND KNEADING MACHINE Filed Dec. 4, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYS March 17, 1925 H. F. TIEDKE TWO-BLADE MTXING AND KNEADING MACHINE Filed Dec. 4, 1923 2 Sheets-Shut 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 17, 1925.

, UNITED STATES 1,530,029 ATEN 0FFlCE.--

HANS F. TIEDKE, 0F SAGINAW, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR '10 BAKER-PERKINS COMPANY, INCORPORATED, 01: WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK.

TWO-BLADE MIXING AND KNEADING MACHINE.

Application filed December 4, 1923. Serial No. 075,391.

To all whom it may concern:

3e it known that I, HANS F. TIEDKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at 778 Brockway Street, Saginaw, Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Two-Blade Mixing and Kneading Machines, of which the following is a clear, full, and exact description.

This invention relates to mixing and kneading machines and, more particularly, to the type of mixing and kneading machines in which the mixing blades are mounted on a pair of shafts, usually arranged horizontally and parallel to each other to rotate in opposite directions in respective compartments or trough portions which meet centrally of the trough in a saddle like ridge over which the tips of the kneading and mixing blades pass.

In kneading machines of this type, the kneaded or mixed material is commonly discharged from the machine by tilting the machine about an axis parallel to the shafts supporting the mixing blades, a manner of discharge which permits the blades to re.- volve during the tilting and thus facilitates the discharge of the material. In many cases, however, the discharge of the material in this manner is inconvenient or impossible and. moreover, involves the use of floor space that would otherwise not be required.

These limitations and inconveniences are obviated by the present invention, an object of which is to provide a compact, easily operable discharge means for mixing apparatus of this type that enables the mixed material to be discharged directly downwardly beneath the kneading trough.

()ther obiects of the invention are to provide an easily accessible mechanism for operating a discharge door for apparatus of the type mentioned above. which supports the discharge door uniformly at its ends at: points out of the path of the discharged material. which enables .the discharge door to be locked simultaneously and automatically at both ends when in closed position, which insures movement of the door vertically in a straight line and which enables the material to be rapidly and completely discharged-in a uniform manner.

\Vith these and-other objects iew,

the invention comprises the apparatus described and set forth in the following specification and claims.

The various features of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a kneading and mixing machine embodying a preferred form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation'of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is av vertical section through a kneading machine and discharge mechanism, having a slightly different chute arrangement from that of Fig. 1, the position of the discharging door in discharging position being indicated in broken lines;

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail of a portion of the machine taken on the line 44 of Fig.

2, illustrating a locking means for holding a the door in closed position;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail of a portion of the machine taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through a portion of the machine taken on the line 66 of Fig. 4.

In my present invention, the mixing or kneading machine is provided with a central discharge opening extending longitudinally at the place normally occupied by the central ridge over which the mixing blades pass between their respective trough portions. This discharge opening is normally closed during the kneadin operation by means of a discharge door having its upper face formed to continue the curved surfaces of the trough portions over which the mixing blades pass and itself to constitute the ridge or saddle between the trough portions. This discharge door is rigidly supported at either end and when the mixed materialto be discharged is lowered directly downwardly from the discharge opening to enable the discharged material to pass through the opening, the rotation of the mixing blades serving to sweep the material into the opening. The door is raised and lowered to and from closed position by raising and lowering means at either end, preferably .out of the path of, and protected from contact with. the discharged material. The raising and lowering means are simultaneously and uniformly operated from a common source and are in a readily accessible position. The door is locked in closed sition by locking means at either end w ich automatically move into locking position as the door reaches its closed position and rigidly hold the door in position to seal the dischar e opening and to bring the upper face of t e door into its proper relation to the bottom of the trough.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings, the invention is illustrated as applied to a mixing and kneeding machine of the Werner and Pfleiderer type, known commercially as the Masticator, this mixing and kneadin machine having a pair of side walls 10 an 11, curved in their lower portions 12 and 14 to form a pair of curved or semicylindrical trough portions 16 and 18 in which mixing blades 20 and 22, respectively, rotate the side and bottom wglls being joined to end. walls 23 and 24 of the trough by means of suitable end flanges. The blades 20 and 22 are mounted on and secured to shafts 25 and 26, respectively, which are coaxial with the cylindrical wall portions 12 and 14 respectively and extend through, and are. journaled in bearings 27 and 28 in the end walls 23 and 24 of the trough. The end walls 23 and 24 are extended downwardly below the bottom of the trough to form pairs of supporting legs 29 and 30 for the trough. The shafts 27 and 28 may be rotated in opposite directions in the usual manner by suitable driving means as, for example, by means of intermeshing gears 31, which are mounted on the shafts at a sufficient distance from the end walls of the troughto accommodate the discharge mechanism.

A central discharge opening 32 is formed between the inner edges of the lower portions 12 and 14 of the walls 10 and 12 through which mixed material may be dis charged from the trough, the opening being shown in the present example as extending the length of the trough, although openings of other dimensions may be used. The opening 32 is closed during the mixing or kneading operation by means of a door 34, which closely fits within the opening 32 to form a tight closure. The upper surface of the door is curved concavely downwardly, at either side of a central, slightly rounded, longitudinal ridge or saddle 36, on a radius substantially the same as thatof the lower curved portions 12 and 14 of the trough thus forming continuations of the curved or cylindrical surfaces 12 and 14 over which the tips of the mixin blades .20 and 22 travel.

When the sad 1e door 34 is lowered to a sufliciently low position as indicated by broken lines in Figs. 1 and 3, the contents of the mixing trough are swept by the blades 20 and 22 into the opening 32 and drop over the side faces of the saddle door trough. For this purpose, the door 32 is extended through vertical slots 42 and 43 in the end walls 23 and 24, respectively, said slots 42 and 43 extending downwardly from the discharge opening 32 and having upper edges which the upper end surfaces of the door 34 abut when the door is in closed position. The door 34 is guided in its vertical movement by guide bars 44 and 45, one at each end, rigidly fixed to, or integral with, the door and extending upwardly and downwardly from the level of the door. The guide bars are slidable between pairs of guide boards 46 and 47, respectively, of sufiicient thickness to guide the guide bars 44 and 45. The guide boards 46- and 47 are formed with thinner sidewise extending guide plates 48 and 49, respectively, which are narrower in their upper portions to fit between the bearings 29 and 30 and are widened outwardly as at 50 and 51, downwardly from the level of the door opening to overlap and cover .the ends of the door as it is moved vertically to open or closed position.

The upper, narrower portions of the guide plates are bolted to the end walls 22 and 23 of the though. When the machine is arranged to discharge into a chute extending through the floor, as in Fig. 1, the lower ends of the guide boards may be mounted or fixed directly to the floor itself, and the lower limit of travel of the door is reached when the lower ends of the guide bars 44 and 45 reach are rest on stops 52 on the floor. The spaces between the guide boards and the supporting legs 29 and 30 of the machine are closed by means of cover plates 53 and 54 flush with the guide plates 48 and 49 and joined therto by overlapping strips 59 and screwed to the outside surfaces of the legs and end walls of the trough in such a manner as to prevent the sidewise escape of discharged material. The chute 38 may then be constructed of a pair of inclined plates 55 and 56 fixed at their lower ends in an opening 57 in the floor 58 and at their upper ends to the legs of the machine between which they expand.

In the arrangement of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3 in which the discharge material is received in a car or trolley 40, the legs of the machine are mounted on a pair of cross beams 60 and 61 supported on suitable pedestals 62. In this case the lower ends of the guide boards 46 and 47 andplates 48 and 49 are mounted and attached est to the cross beams and 61, respectively. In, this arrangement, also, inclined plates 62' are placed closely underneath the lowsition of the saddle door. 34 as shown in ig. 3, their edges passing" closely along the board and cover plates at each side, and their lower'edges reaching over the sides of the trolley, so-that no material'may escape between the latter and the adjacent plates. The inclined plates 62' are supported by brackets 63 fixed to the legs supporting the machine.

The door 34 is raised and lowered by means of racks 64 and 65 formed on the outer surfaces of the guide bars 44 and 45, respectively, and pinions 66 and 67 meshing with the racks 64 and 65, respectively, and rotatably mounted in a fixed position at the ends of the machine. The pinion 66 is fixedly mounted on a shaft 68 extending horizontally at one end of the machine and mounted, near one end, in bearings 69 and 70 on reinforced widened rtions of the guide boards 46 at either si e of the pinion 66 and, at its other end, extending through and journaled in a bearing 71 mounted in a bracket 72 on one le of the machine. Similarly, the pinion 67 18 mounted on a shaft 73 journaled in bearing 74 and 75 mounted on the guide boards 47 and in a bearing 76 on a bracket 77 on the opposite leg of the machine.

The shafts 68 and 73 are driven from a common shaft 78 extending longitudinally of the machine at one side and journaled in bearings 79 and 80 in the brackets 72 and 77 adjacent the ends of the shafts 68 and 73. 'For this purpose, a bevel gear 81 is fixedly mounted on the shaft 78 to mesh with a bevel gear 82 fixedly mounted on the ad jacent end of the shaft 68, and a bevel gear 83 isfixedly mounted on the shaft 78 to mesh with a bevel gear 84 fixedly mounted on the adjacent end of the shaft 73. Accordingly is when the shaft 78 is rotated, as by means of a crank 85 or other suitable actuating mechaiiism, the shafts 68 and 73 and their associated pinions 66 and 67 and racks 64 and 65, respectively, are simultaneously raised and lowered in a uniform manner, this arrangement of the apparatus enabling the door to be easily operated.

When the door has been brought to its uppermost closed position by the racks and pinions, it is locked in position at either end until it is to be again lowered for the discharge of finished material. The door is locked at one end by means of a bolt 86 slidably mounted in aligned horizontal holes 87 in the widened, reinforced portions of the guide boards 46 and adapted to slide through a hole 88 in the guide bar 44, which is brought into alignment with the holes 87 when the door is in closed position, and at the other end by a bolt 89 sliding in similar holes 90 in the guide boards 47 and through a hole 91 in the guide bar 45 which comes into alignment with the holes 90 when the door is brought to closed position. The bolt 86 is urged to locking position by means of a spring 92, confined between a disc 93 mounted on the outer end of the bolt 86 and a bracket 94 mountedon the end wall 23 of the machine, the disc and spring moving loosely in an enclosing tube 95 between the bracket 94 and the guide board 46. The disc also has the function of limiting the inward movement of the bolt. The bolt 89 is similarly urged to locking position by means of a spring 96 confined between a disc 97 on the bolt 89 and a bracket 98 on the end wall of .the machine and enclosed in a similar tube 99.

WVhen the door 34 is to be lowered to discharge mixed material, the bolts 86 and 89 are withdrawn until they clear the holes 88 and 91, respectively in the guide bars 44 and 45. For this purpose rods 100 and 101, re-

spectively, are attached to the ends of the bolts 86 and 89 and extend centrally of the springs 92 and 96 and through openings in the brackets 94 and 98, respectively and attached to means by which they may be simultaneously withdrawn from the openings 88 and 91. withdrawn from looking positions by means of flexible, inelastic means such as wires, chains or ropes 102 and 103, attached to the free ends of the rods 100 and 101, respectively, the springs 92 and 96 being comressed between the discs 93 and 97, and the brackets 94 and 98, respectively as the bolts are withdrawn.

To enable the wires 102 and 103 to be simultaneously actuated, they are attached to a single, common, actuating lever 104. scoured to one of the legs 29 of the machine. The wire 102 passes from the rod 100 over a pulley 105 mounted in a bracket 106 on its end of the machine and directly downwardly to an eye 107 in the lever 104 in which it is secured. The wire 103 passes over a pulley 108 mounted in an inclined bracket 109 on the opposite end 30 of the machine, then through openings 110 and 111 in the ends of the machine to a second pulley 1.12 in a bracket 113 on the opposite leg 29 of the machine, and thence downwardly to be attached with the wire 102 to the lever 104. When the lever 104 is depressed. therefore, the bolts are simultaneously withdrawn, unlocking the door and permitting it to be lowered by means of its racks and pinions.

To insure against withdrawing the bolts 86 and 89 completely from their holes in the guide boards 46 and 47, their respective wires 102 and 103 are passed through 'holes 116 and 117 in upwardly projecting portions of the brackets 106 and 109, the diameters of which are too small to permit In unlocking the bolts, they are 1.

the passage of the heads of the rods 100 and 101.

The lever 104 is held in its lower position during the dumping of the machine by means of a pin 118 insertable in a hole 119 in the adjacent leg of the machine. When the door 32- is again raised to closed position, the in 118 is removed and the lever lifted as t e doorapproaches its uppermost position. The springs 92 and 96 accordingly press their respective bolts against the sides of the guide bars 44 and 45, so that the bolts spring into the holes 88 andfil in the guide bars as soon as these holes come into alignment with the holes 87 and 90, respectively. To enable the bolts to ride freely on the sides of the guide bars and to readily slide into the lockin holes 88 and 91, the inner ends of the bots are slightly rounded.

The invention thus provides an apparatus by which mixin and kneading machines ma be easily ischarged without tilting an which does not require any appreciable additional space over that required by the mixing machine alone. The discharge door ma be lowered graduall -so that the ma-' terial mai be discharge slowly from all parts of t e trough or more rapidly as desired. The door is, moreover, so supported that there is no tendenc for it to bind and may be raised or lowere with equal facility in all positions.

It is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the device, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

Having described the invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 15:

1. A mixing and kneading machine which comprises a mixingtrough, mixing means in said trough, a central 0 ening in the bottom of said trough exten ing substantially the full length thereof, a door for closing said opening, and means for effecting a direct vertical movement of said door into and out of said opening.

2. A mixing and kneading machine which comprises a mixing trough, a central open-- ing in the bottom of said trough extending substantially the full length thereof, a door for closing said opening, means for effecting a direct vertical movement of said door into and out of said opening, and mixing means in said trough adapted to sweep material therein into said opening when said door is lowered.

3. Apparatus of the type described which comprises, a mixing trough having a central opening in its bottom wall. a door tightly closing said opening and having surfaces curved upwardly to a central ridge, means at the ends of said machine for raising and lowering said door, locking means at the ends of said door, and means for unlockin sail locking means simultaneously at both on s.

4. Apparatus of the type described which comprises, a mixing trough having an open ing in its bottom wall, a door closing said opening, means at the ends of'said trough aranged to operate simultaneously to move said doorto open or closed position, s ring pressed means operatin automatical to lock said door in close position at both ends thereof, and means for simultaneously releasing said locking means.

5. Apparatus of the typedescribed which comprises, a mixin trough having a discharge opening in its bottom wall, a door for said opening movable'vertically to open- .ed one at'either end of saiddoor and sliding vertically on the outer end faces of said trough, and means on the outer end faces of said trough for raising and lowering said guides.

7.. Apparatus of the type described which comprises, aamixing trough having a discharge opening in its bottom wall, a door for said opening movable vertically to open and closed positions, vertical guides mounted on said door one at either end. a rack on each guide, pinions at the respective ends of said trough meshing with said racks, a supporting shaft for each pinion, a common drive shaft, and gearing connecting said pinion shafts to said drive shaft.

8. Apparatus of the type described which comprises, a mixing trough having a discharge opening in its bottom wall, a door for said opening movable vertically to open and closed positions. a vertical guide mounted on said door at each end. means for raising and lowering said door through said guides, and means for limiting the lower movement of said guides. g

9. Apparatus of the type described which comprises, a mixing trough having an opening in its bottom wall. a vertically movable discharge door for said opening, a pair of guides mounted on said door, one at each end, a guide board for each guide, holes in said guide boards and in their respective guides positioned to lie in alignment when said door is in closed position, bolts slidable in said holes to lock said guides to their respective guide boards, springs pressing said .bolts toward locking position, and means for simultaneously withdrawing said bolts from locking position.

10; Apparatus of the type described which comprises, a mixing trough having an opening in its bottom wall, a vertically movable discharge door for said opgning, a pair of guides mounted on ,said door, one at each end, a guide board for each guide, holes in said guide boards and their respec tive guides positioned to lie in alignment when said door is in closed position, bolts slidable in said holes to lock said guides to their respective guide boards, means for pressing said bolts towards locking position, a common operating lever for said bolts, wires connecting said bolts to said lever, and means for limiting the movement of said bolts by said lever.

11. Apparatus of the type described which comprises, a mixing trough having an opening in its bottom wall, a vertically l movable discharge door for said opening, a

guide mounted at each end of said door, a pair of guide boards at each side of each guide overlapping the adjacent end of the door, closing boards fixed to said guide boards and closing the ends of thespace beneath said trough, and a pair of inclined plates extending between the closing boards at opposite ends of said machine to form a chute.

12. Apparatus of the type described which comprises, a mixing trough having an opening in its bottom wall, a vertically movable discharge door for said opening, a vertical guide at each end of and fixed to said door, a pair of guide boards for each guide and attached to the ends of said trough, means joined to said guide boards for closing the ends of the space beneath said trough, inclined plates between the closing means at each end of said machine to form a chute, and means mounted on said ide boards for raising and lowering both 0 said endguides in their respective guide boards simultaneously and for simultaneously looking said guides to their respective guide boards when said door is in closed position.

13. Apparatus of the type described which comprises, a mixing trough having an opening in its bottom wall, a vertically movable discharge door for said opening, a vertical guide at each end of and fixed to said door, a pair of guide boards for each guide and attached to the ends of said trough, a rack formed on the outer edge of each vertical uide, a pinion mounted on each pair of guide boards and meshing with the adjacent rack, means for simultaneously rotating .said pinions, bolts mounted in said guide boards to engage holes in said guides when said door is in closed position, and means for simultaneously withdrawing said bolts from looking position.

14. A mixing and kneading machine comprising, in combination, a mixing trough aving an opening in its bottom Wall extending substantially the full length thereof, a door for closing said opening having surfaces curved upwardly to a central. ridge,

'means for efi'e'cting a vertical movement of said door into and out of said opening, and mixing blades in the said troughs adapted to sweep material from the trough into said opening when said door is in lowered position.

15. A mixing and kneading machine comprising, in combination, a mixing trough havin a dividing ridge in its bottom, mixing -b ades operating upon the respective sides of said dividing ridge, a section of said bottom extending substantially throughout the length of said trough and including said dividing ridge being movable vertically downward to provide a discharge opening, and means for effecting such movement arranged to support said section in such position that the material discharged from said trough is divided by said ridge.

Signed at Saginaw, Michigan, this 27th day of Nov., 1923.

HANS F. TIEDKE. 

